4 Wheeling

Dan and I have been in Utah this week and have had tons of fun...up until yesterday at about noon. We went 4 wheeling with Todd, Steph, and Dallin and Dan ended up rolling (we think - no one saw it) his 4 wheeler. Yesterday was a scary day for us, but he's doing much better today. I wrote in pretty good detail what happened and posted it on my family forum, so I'm just copying and pasting it on here. I was tired and kind of out of it when I wrote it, so I hope it makes sense. :)

We were finished 4wheeling and Todd and Dan decided to go back out for a couple minutes. Todd came back by himself and we waited for a few minutes waiting for Dan. When he never came back (after about 5 mins), Todd went looking for him. About 5 minutes later, they both came driving back on their own 4wheelers really slowly. Todd pulled ahead of Dan and told us that he wrecked and was hurt. I pulled off his goggles and helmet, but it didn't look like anything was too bad, but he said his ankle hurt. It looked really bad and some tissue (I think that's what it was) was sticking out of it. So Todd poured water over it and wrapped his shirt around it. We got him into the front seat of the truck laying down while Todd got the 4wheelers back on the trailer (so fast, I don't know how he did it...). I tried to keep Dan talking but he kept talking in circles - asking the same questions, and not remembering anything that was going on. He couldn't remember the 4th of July, my birthday, our anniversary, etc. This was the point when I really started freaking out. Although, he knew his birthday, name, etc. (This point reminded me of 10 Second Tom (or whatever) from 50 First Dates where there was a conversation going on and then he'd start over with the same questions.)

Dan still doesn't remember what exactly happened. He remembers taking a turn a little too fast, fishtailing, thinking "oh crap", falling, and then nothing else until being in the truck and that's still a little hazy. We're thinking he fell off and the 4wheeler rolled because it's banged up pretty good.

Todd gave him a blessing (THANK GOODNESS he thought of doing that) and we started down the mountain with no phone service. After 5 or 10 mins, we finally got coverage and Todd called 911 and had an ambulance meet us at a gas station in Stockton. They took him into the hospital and ran tests. By this time, he was finally remembering things - not everything, but enough that I was able to calm down quite a bit. He has a fractured ankle (he also has a hole in his ankle that they had to stitch up, probably from the break pedal that sticks out), and bruised rib or liver or something around there, but his CT scan came back normal, so his head and neck are fine considering he had a concussion. He's scraped up pretty good and has some road rash or whatever that's called. But he'll be fine. He's got some bandages on and a splint on his leg (we need to go to another dr next week to get a cast put on) and he's in quite a bit of pain, but he'll be just fine in no time.

We had a great time 4 wheeling - in fact, Dan keeps saying how much fun he had. My mom and sister took some pictures while we were at the hospital, but I won't post those because some of them are pretty gross. :)

Dan lookin' pretty cool driving through a creek.

Dan at the top of the mountain.

My mom thinks we look like astronauts in this picture.

Us practicing our synchronized 4 wheeling.

Dan driving back after his accident - he doesn't remember this at all.

Dan getting cleaned off and stitched up.

Poor Dan all bandaged up.

We'll post more pictures and more about our trip after we get home, which we're actually not sure when that will be now. :) We may end up staying out here longer and going to a doctor here. We're not sure yet.

Get better soon, Dan!

St. Louis and Silver Falls

About a month ago, Angie and I went back to St. Louis to visit my family. We were only there for the weekend, so we had a lot to do in a short amount of time. We spent some quality time with my family, Ang and I went to a Cardinals game (of course), ate at our favorite places, and saw some old friends.
It was good to see my niece. She looks exactly like her mom! I had the priviledge of blessing her at church. I can't wait until I get to do the same thing for my own child! I also enjoyed the time spent with my family. My sister and her spouse flew in from San Francisco, so all of us were gathered together as a family for the first time.

As some of you may know, my stepmom was involved in a serious automobile accident last September and when I last saw her (later that month), she was laid up in a hospital bed full of machines and tubes hooked up to her. I'm happy to say that she is doing a lot better now! I knew she had made great strides since then (such as re-learning how to walk, speak, etc.) but it was good to visit with her and see the progress for myself. If you met her today, you couldn't even tell that she was hit by a semi-truck on the freeway. Amazing.

We didn't take many pictures on this trip, but here are some of the highlights (I took some random pictures with my phone and uploaded them to Facebook, so you can catch them there under the "Mobile Uploads" folder):

Angie and I chillin' at Busch Stadium (aka-my Graceland)

They even have fireworks, too! (at least when the Cards hit a home run)

Ordering out of the back window at the White Castle drive thru...because that's how we roll when we're in St. Louis!

Me doing my best impression of Buddy the elf on the escalator.


Me and my niece. See, she's already looking up to me (well, up at me, at least)!

How about this: Judas Priest and Whitesnake performing at the FAMILY Arena? Really?

And speaking of trips from a month ago, Ang and I went with our friends Blake and Kristin to Silver Falls State Park at the end of May and had a great time! We chose to do the five mile hike around the park and we saw a total of seven waterfalls. It was amazing to see all of these beautiful waterfalls and their plush, green surroundings. Blake was told by one of the park rangers that he should be fine to walk the trail with a stroller (instead of using that baby backpack thing they have). After helping Blake carry the stroller up and down many steps on some winding paths, I came to the conclusion that the park ranger must not have any children. Anyway, we had a memorable time and went on a beautiful day!

Us at one of the falls.

One of the falls.

Come to think of it, couldn't this post have been broken up into two? Yes, it could've. Just consider it a "packaged deal" of rewards for you, the reader, in response for the lack of postings lately.

Oh, and one more thing...

IN YOUR FACE!